Regardless
by Black Witch Kings
Summary: Rebekah and Klaus sibling centered human-era one-shots. *Ended due to loss of interest.*
1. Pique

_**Disclaimer : I do not any of the characters featured in this story, except perhaps a few random OCs that may appear.**_

_**Writer: Demetrius's Sadist (EternalAnarchy)**_

**_Story's_**_** Theme: In My Arms by Plumb**_

_**Extra: Klaus is 11 in this chapter, while Rebekah is 7. I'm having them be four years apart, as recommended by someone from TO's wikia. It also just fits plot purposes. There will only be two or three chapters with them as kids, as I'm mainly writing these to show how they are broken, and the drastic contrast between past and present. And I want a reason for why Klaus obviously believes Rebekah will always stay by his side, no matter what he does. And I need to get this out of the way. Whether you take this story as such or not, it **_**isn't**_** incestual. But if you want to find some deeper feelings to stuff, by all means, go ahead. But it's in your head. lol.**_

Ignoring the pale hand waving itself in his face, Niklaus Mikaelson kept his gaze trained solely on the flames of two candles set upon the dining table of the house, his chin resting on the table. There was an abundance of said candles in the house, as they were apparently a necessity to most spells Mother did. While he was curious at times, he never really cared about his mother's magic. He was much more interested in other...activities. None of which his father ever approved of, even when he mimicked one of his older brothers actions exactly. He'd be lying if he said this didn't make him the least bit jealous. It was worse when he realized it wasn't just his existence's timing, as his father showed no ill will towards his little sister, Rebekah. Selfishly, he had almost hoped the new child his mother bore would be treated the same as him. It would make him feel less secluded. Not that he felt such now. That was practically impossible, with his sister refusing to leave him be.

His otherwise steady concentration on the candles breaking, he snapped his eyes up to the other blonde sitting across from him, eyes narrowed. "Rebekah. Must you continue doing that? I am aware that you are here. You needn't shove the fact into my face quite so literally."

The younger of the two children smiled brightly at first, glad at having gained her brother's attention. Her expression shifted to a petulant scowl at his words, though, capable of understanding his tone, if not why it was being used. She'd certainly noticed his mood. It was the reason she'd been in here with him for the past twenty minutes, after all. Klaus continued looking at her expectantly, irritated with her silence. "Well? Did you need something? Or were you planning to do that until your wrist inevitably tired?"

Rebekah shook her head at his words, responding with a matter-of-fact, "You looked forlorn." She got a smug look at that remark, clearly impressed with her own vocabulary. She'd been reading with their mother before coming to see Klaus. Her brother just raised an eyebrow, lifting his head and sitting up, waiting for her to say more. Her accomplished look diminished. "And I wanted to talk to you.." She shifted her gaze elsewhere momentarily, missing his reaction by doing such. It was a mixture of surprise and skepticism; it faded quickly.

Klaus's reply to her was only, "About?"

Rebekah frowned in confusion, but mentally put her thoughts aside. He made it seem like she wanted to talk to him about something dire. And she didn't understand that, hence why she was not going to address it. "Never mind. You don't have to talk. I'll talk. You can..." She trailed off and shrugged faintly, waving a hand at him, hinting that she wouldn't mind if he merely continued with what he was doing now. She liked watching his reactions to things. While she would never tell him this, they were kind of amusing. At least if it wasn't something to do with their father. She only found those upsetting. "Finn was in your room earlier."

Despite having begun to slip back into boredom and pique, Klaus's heed to her was suddenly peaked, and he stiffened. "What?" Him and Finn were not close at all, so this both surprised and pissed him off. "When?"

"While Father was talking to you earlier," Rebekah answered, having to resist from glancing down to the fading bruise wrapping his wrist in a sickly indigo, with changing shades of greenish-yellow. "Elijah got him to get out though. I don't know what Finn wanted though."

"Does it matter? I don't care what he wanted. If I were to ever even glance in his room, I doubt he wouldn't go tell Mo-"

Sensing a rant, Rebekah cut off her brother with a quick question, "Do you draw?" She was satisfied when he seemed to be caught off guard, his brows furrowing in confusion at the random inquiry. Nonetheless, he nodded slowly. Granted, she'd already known this. After Elijah and Finn had left, she'd gone in herself, and noticed a few things. It was only out of curiosity that she'd done so, but because his reaction to knowing Finn was in there, she'd rather not tell him this. "Can you show me? How, I mean. Because I can barely draw a rune properly, let alone a bird, or something." The rune part was a lie, but she'd only said it to get him to do what she wished to. It was just some good-natured manipulation.

Evidently, it worked too, because after a few minutes of silence, Klaus begrudgingly said, "Go get parchment." She didn't waste a moment in scrambling out of the chair and going off to get materials. He watched her leave, actually looking slightly amused when she nearly tripped over the hem of her dress.

In a time that made her brother suspicious of how random her request actually was, Rebekah was back and setting a few sheets of parchment on the middle of the table, two pens and small containers of thick, viscid, ink following them. She instantly set herself to moving the chair she'd been sitting in beside her brother's. settling herself in it afterwards. She pretended to not notice his expression that showed he obviously found the proximity unpleasant.

Despite Klaus's mild vexation, he reached across the table and lifted one of the already prepared pens up, sliding a piece of paper in front of both himself and his sister. He immediately turned his gaze downwards, beginning to diligently work on his paper. Rebekah watched his features shift so that they represented sheer seriousness, and she was reluctant to do such, but she interrupted him. "Wait." Klaus paused, glancing over at her quizzically.

The corners of Rebekah's lips tilted downwards, and she had to resist rolling her eyes. "Please tell me you aren't _this_ bad at teaching things, brother, and just forgetful."

Realizing what her problem was, Klaus gave her a look, though clearly wasn't actually mad. Well...maybe not clearly, as Rebekah now suspected that he would leave. She was surprised he hadn't already. He didn't really seem to want to be doing this. He exhaled. "It's called observing, _sister_," he returned to her. "Please tell me you're not this bad at doing such a thing." Without forethought, Rebekah shoved him in the shoulder playfully, faking a look of offense before peering over at the paper he'd been drawing on. Before he could actually do anything about it, she suddenly snatched it away from under his palm, looking it over intently.

"You definitely have to show me how now. This is better than all of the illustrations in those books Kol has," Rebekah told him, laughing a bit at the face her brother made when she said 'books". It wasn't that Klaus had a problem with books. It was just the books Kol had specifically. They tended to be...weird. But, Kol himself tended to be weird, if not annoying. This was something both children agreed on; even Kol himself probably would.

Rebekah set the paper with the unfinished drawing on it down, pushing her own paper so that it was in between the two blondes. She took the other pen, waiting patiently.

"Just so you are aware, as I doubt such ineptitude will be easy to adjust, you'll owe be after this," Klaus told her, surprisingly, teasingly before beginning to question her on what she wished to draw first.

/

/

"That is absolutely horrendous, and I will not take any credit for it. It's all you, little sister," Klaus said to Rebekah with mock-seriousness, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned away from the table, in his seat. In the half an hour they'd been working, little progress had been made on his sister's artistic talent.

"Hush. _You_ were supposed to fix that," Rebekah responded with a fixed glower on her older brother.

He shrugged, indifferent to this remark. "Well..." He waved a hand at on of the first pictures she had done without his outlining and guidance. "Some are better than that one.."

Rebekah was the one to give the other a look this time, and hers was questioning his honesty. "Are you referencing my work or yours when you speak of the better ones?" Surprising her, her brother actually laughed at this comment. Her own amusement at the candor of the sound and partnering smile was slightly depleted when she realized her own surprise caused by both things. Finding her brother smiling surprising was probably a bad thing, but...She wasn't about to let her thoughts show, and possibly ruin the mood. So she smiled along with him, though by the time she snapped out of her thoughts, his seemed to be fading. She found this, of all things, normal, but when she focused more on what he was now doing.

"Nik?" The nickname was one she'd used since she was younger. "What are you doing?" She knew what he was doing, but she didn't exactly know why. At least not why he was doing it so hurriedly. Her questioning, however, did nothing to stop him from collecting the drawings he had done and stacking the few up, before crumpling each and everyone of them up. He left hers alone though.

She frowned, about to ask him something else, but was cut short when he stood up abruptly, taking his work with him as he left the room. After only a second of hesitation, she stood as well and followed him out, her frown deepening when she witnessed him toss his pieces into the blazing fire currently in the hearth of the sitting room. "Brother, why did you do that? I liked them. Did you not? Because in comparison to mine..." She trailed off when she realized her efforts to return him to his previous mood would probably end up being in vain.

"Rebekah, to Father, I cannot even possesses a blade properly." Something he was told time and time again, but couldn't help but defiantly disagree with. Even when he only had his own, often immature, vanity to back him up on this belief, because no one else would tell him such. Esther and Elijah usually ignored him, and only showed disappointment when they weren't doing so. He tended to intentionally annoy Finn..or at least he'd used to. Now he tried to anger him, for multiple reasons. Reasons that didn't entail compliments to a younger brother's swordsmanship. He had yet to hear anything encouraging from Mikael, in eleven years, and Kol merely tried to annoy others. And Henrik was too young to even say much of anything so...That left Rebekah, who he didn't mind much after today. Not that he'd ever disliked her, per se. Her sometimes a tad extreme cheerfulness aside, she was probably actually his favorite after today. "Nor can I hunt well. Or, hell, cut a bloody rope." All things he personally disagreed with, but hearing the opposite from his father kind of made it hard to continue doing so. "Do you really think he would approve of...that." He waved a hand at the fire, his gaze hardening. "He came home. I heard. I'm not leaving those things lying around. So I did none of this with you today. You, on the other hand, scribbled to your heart's content, okay?"

Rebekah wanted to protest to the first parts of his words, but could find nothing to do so with. She slowly nodded at the last part though, reluctantly agreeing. It wasn't like she could come up with any better options. "Nik..."

Klaus waved a hand dismissively, seeming to know what he was about to say. "I don't even mind, to be honest. Those pieces were rushed. You kept asking questions too, which distracted me. So good riddance to them." He shrugged, while she smiled a bit at his words.

Both the nonchalance and the smile were feigned.


	2. Vanity

_**Disclaimer : I do not any of the characters featured in this story, except perhaps a few random OCs that may appear.**_

_**Writer: Demetrius's Sadist (EternalAnarchy)**_

**_Story's_**_** Theme: In My Arms by Plumb**_

_**Extra: Klaus is 13 in this chapter, while Rebekah is 9. I'm having them be four years apart, as recommended by someone from TO's wikia. It also just fits plot purposes. There will only be two or three chapters with them as kids, as I'm mainly writing these to show how they are broken, and the drastic contrast between past and present. And I want a reason for why Klaus obviously believes Rebekah will always stay by his side, no matter what he does. And I need to get this out of the way. Whether you take this story as such or not, it **_**isn't**_** incestual. But if you want to find some deeper feelings to stuff, by all means, go ahead. But it's in your head. lol.**_

Shifting to the right, and then the left, Klaus switched which leg he applied more pressure to, obviously uncomfortable with both his attire and surroundings. He hated the village's dances, more than he hated...a lot of things. Everyone acting as if they liked one another, smiling, laughing, giving him things. His mother making him wear the disgusting thing he was currently dressed in.

Well, the last part wasn't so bad, if he was being honest.

If anything, the objects given to him by some of the girls here, fueled his "mild" vanity. In return for each of their kindness, he flashed each of them a smile. They seemed appreciative enough.

"Honestly, Niklaus, you could say thank you to at least _one_ of them."

Klaus didn't show his annoyance at his mothers repeated statement, having already heard it about five times. So far, she'd forced him to stand beside her, claiming she'd only allow him to leave if he went with one of his brothers, or went to dance. And he wasn't going with Elijah, as he was busy with even more annoying girls. He didn't even consider going to Finn. They weren't close. And Kol...he didn't even know where Kol was. He'd initially considered going to his father, but the fact that even his mother hadn't suggested it, among other things, put that out of his mind. His mother's comments about manners weren't even the annoying part. It was the fact that she was acting overly motherly and concerned. She barely even reached the minimal for both accounts when at home, and he knew she would revert to ignoring him once they got back.

"Sure, Mother. If any other comes, I'll do just that..." Klaus eventually responded to her, under his breath, only saying it so that she would let it go. He could see from his peripheral vision that she knew he was merely humoring her, and was glad that she didn't comment.

/

/

A pull here, and a tug there, Klaus messed with the threads of the sleeves of his outfit, out of boredom. No other girls had come to him with gifts, which he wasn't really disappointed about, but still. Sending them off at least gave him something other than glowering at fabric to do. But now he was stuck listening to his mother chatter about inane women things with another wife, who he suspected was also a witch like his mother. He figured that was the only reason he wasn't currently being scolded. Having had enough with them, Klaus looked away from the now torn fabric of his sleeves, pausing at what caught his eye, narrowing them. He'd forgotten his sister had come with them all, instead of staying with Leethan, one of Esther's friends, and Henrik.

But while he himself didn't really note her presence, another apparently did, as his sister was currently dancing with some boy who he recognized as the son of one of the men his father was currently talking to. He started moving forward, but paused when a redhead, who seemed to be about a year younger then him, cut him off. He scowled. He remembered her as one who had already come and given him something. _Twice._ Ignoring the girl's babbling, he began to step past her, but paused when he remembered his preoccupied mother, glancing back. She was still speaking to the other woman, but... He sighed, looking back at the ginger, smiling bitterly. "Really?" he replied to..whatever she'd been asking him. "That sounds just wonderful." She was apparently incapable of picking up on obvious sarcasm, as she just nodded enthusiastically. After glancing behind her once more, he abruptly said, "Would you care to dance with me? It's the least I can do, after your...gifts." Honestly, he'd stolen better crap than what she'd given him. And he didn't want to dance with her. But Mother couldn't complain, since she'd said he could leave if he did so. Granted, he was fairly certain she'd only said it because she didn't think he would, but that was her problem, not his.

The redhead smiled at his request, which she figured was sincere, and nodded shyly. "Certainly." She was taken aback when he instantly grabbed her upper arm, dragging her to the middle of the floor. She stumbled behind him, but eventually just took his bluntness as enthusiasm, especially when he situated them into a dancing position. She giggled when he placed a hand on her mid-back, missing the disgusted look her shot her, her eyes fluttering. Her already existing smile grew when they actually began dancing. Noticing a few envious stares from others, she didn't really mind the fast pace at which he was leading her, nor did she care about the fact that he seemed to have a very distinct destination while dancing.

"Rebekah," Klaus hissed at the pair adjacent to him, as he slowed in his dancing with the girl, to the point where he mostly just swaying with her. He ignored her confused look, glad she was remaining silent. "_Rebekah._"

Whipping her head around as she heard her name, Rebekah turned her attention away from the one she was dancing with, smiling a bit when she noticed her brother was the one who had called her."Nik. Hel-" She was caught off, due to her own surprise, her eyes widening a bit. "You're...actually dancing? Goodness, Nik.." She could only half suppress her laughs, looking around all the while. "Where is Kol? He'd love this." When she eventually looked back at Klaus, she noticed his peeved expression, which caused her to pause, though she continued dancing, as did he. "What?" She paused even more though when she noticed his annoyed expression wasn't exactly focused on her, but instead her partner. When she looked up at who she was dancing with, she noticed that he was smirking smugly. She frowned.

"I was just curious as to why you of all people, sister, are dancing with someone of such low ranking," Klaus responded, slowly removing his glare from the boy she was dancing with. Technically, his family was only slightly above the one that the boy his sister was dancing with belonged to. But this difference was enough for him, especially since he already didn't like him.

The boy dancing with Rebekah only smirked more. "Oh, _please_. Out of the two of us, I seriously doubt I'm the one to be considered low-ranking, Mikaelson."

Klaus's ire intensified a bit, and he stopped dancing, releasing the redhead he'd still been holding to him, turning so that he completely faced the pair who continued dancing. He was a bit annoyed that the girl didn't leave, but didn't have the will to deal with her. "And I suppose you think I'm supposed to take offense to that? From someone so close to a peasant?" He swore there was something wrong with his siblings. Elijah hung out with any girl who caught his eyes, though at least they were...attractive, sometimes anyway. He was perceptive enough to notice that Finn was hanging around with a girl who pretty much was a peasant. Disgusting thing.

The boy pointedly looked back to where a small group of men stood, obviously wanting Klaus to do the same. Klaus glanced over there skeptically, narrowing his eyes at the amused expression the boy wore when he looked back at him. "I'm sure your father would agree. With me, I mean." At this point, both the boy and Rebekah had stopped dancing, and even Rebekah narrowed her eyes a bit at this comment, stepping back. The boy didn't really seem to mind, caught up in this feud as much as Klaus was.

Not showing how that actually hurt, Klaus just scoffed. "If you go anywhere near my sister again, Liam, you better know how to handle a sword." He'd never liked Liam. Him and his family had always annoyed him. Though any boy would have probably annoyed him. He knew how women were with guys they held affections for. He'd seen it enough times with his mother. She constantly chose Mikael over him, and acted as if he didn't exist, when around him. And as Rebekah was the only person who ever seemed to care about him, he wasn't going to lose his family to the likes of Liam.

Liam shrugged and glanced at Rebekah, who was frowning at him with her arms crossed. He looked back at Klaus then and flashed an impish grin before walking away calmly. Klaus glared after him before looking at Rebekah. "Sister.."

Rebekah sighed. "Please don't give me the 'they are peasants' speech you gave Finn. I found that one funny, as Sage is one, but..." Even at her age, she could see the difference between poverty and wealth. And Sage was a part of the former, while herself and her brothers were of the latter. She realized defending Liam's status would probably be really bad right now. Not that she wanted to. She was pissed with him herself, which was saying something, as she was usually pretty lenient.

"Status aside, Liam is just annoying. And not Kol annoying. Worse than that. And I've only ever interacted with him once," Klaus told her, still obviously irritated.

"Once? And you dislike him this much?" After a moment of thought, Rebekah didn't really seem surprised by this. While he actually didn't show it much, she could tell he held grudges. She knew he still hadn't let the...incident with Kol and Henrik go, as it had gotten him in trouble.

Klaus only nodded. "Believe me. If you were me, you'd be irritated too."

Rebekah smiled at this. "Well, of course, if I were you. Everyone knows you're _very_ sensitive," he teased. She laughed at the look he gave her, before saying, "Also. I'm telling Kol about the dancing thing." Klaus's features distorted in disgust at the reminder, appreciative of the fact that the redhead had left. "_And_ that you did it with someone of lower ranking."

Having already been going over to them, Elijah raised an eyebrow as he went to his younger siblings, hearing the last part of his sister's words. "He did what with someone of lower rank?" He seemed honestly curious, as this was Klaus. He tended to be...vain, whenever not around Mikael. Which was probably a result of Mikael. The only time his brother wasn't acting better than somebody, was when with their father.


	3. Supine

_**Disclaimer : I do not any of the characters featured in this story, except perhaps a few random OCs that may appear.**_

_**Writer: Demetrius's Sadist (Pan's Courtesy Call)**_

**_Story's_**_** Theme: In My Arms by Plumb**_

_**Extra: Klaus is 11 in this chapter, while Rebekah is 7. I'm having them be four years apart, as recommended by someone from TO's wikia. It also just fits plot purposes. And this will probably be the last chapter, despite my intentions for the story. After the last TO episode, I can't stomach Klebekah. This chapter is part of that reason, as I'm going with Klaus's assumption about who actually took the dagger. And sorry for the shit ending of this chapter. I wanted to get it done, and I was tired, hence the crappy cut-off.**_

"Here. Take it to your room. Father went out earlier." Elijah paused, pulling the blade he held out to his sister by its hilt back. "And keep it there, do you understand? No playing with it. You don't even need it to begin with, Bekah. I'm only doing this as you've been...pouty."

"Yes, yes, 'Lijah," Rebekah conceded quickly, nodding in such a pace. She continued to keep her hand extended, grinning when Elijah set the hilt of the blade into her palm. She stepped back and gripped it tighter, looking it over a moment. She looked back up at her brother. "Thank you, 'Lijah. I'll keep it hidden. It'll barely see the light of day again. But you must know. Father has enough rivals, and a girl needs to remain protected." She winked. Elijah merely rolled his eyes, nodding a bit before turning and leaving. Rebekah left the room as well, going to her bedroom.

Both of them ended up meeting again, before dinner, in the house's sitting room, Elijah sighing when he noticed Finn and Klaus talking, the former appearing pissed off.

"I just don't want to be touched by someone in amiable association with a water rat," Klaus said, seemingly continuing an already established conversation, his tone teasingly rational. Finn glared at his words, knowing the wording "water rat" wasn't referencing an actual rodent.

"You know, you're a piddling brat. Sage hasn't done anything to you," Finn told his younger brother, defensive of his friend. "If anyone should have a right to be so disparaging, it is her towards _you, _brother._"_

Klaus just shrugged at this, not offended in the slightest. "Well, I'm a damned, piddling brat with money." He smirked. "So I win."

Elijah gave both of them a look, deciding now to be a good time to speak up. "You are neither damned or paltry, Niklaus," he said to the younger of the two, his expression leaving no room for questioning. "But must you be so inclined to pass judgement on Sage? She is a human, not a thing. Do not speak of her so impertinently." He sighed, adding, "At least not around Finn." He turned his attention to Finn, then. "And don't indulge him so. Your debates tend to be double-sided."

Finn scowled at that last part, just shaking his head a bit. "None of you like her. Not even Rebekah!" He pointed over at her accusingly.

"That's not true!" Rebekah responded, looking over at them, having gone to sit down by the fireplace after her entrance. "I just...don't hold her in high opinion."

Finn's expression grew incredulous. "That happens to be exactly what Niklaus said after his first meeting with her, Bekah," he shared. He narrowed his eyes when Klaus actually laughed.

Elijah rubbed his forehead. "Do. Not. Start." He looked up and at Klaus again. "Nothing is amusing." Klaus stifled his laughter with an effort. Like clockwork, he looked at Finn again, too. "Not everyone has to like her, Finn. You must accept that. Don't be so childish."

They all were silent then, Finn just sulking over to the wall, sinking down to the floor and picking up what he'd been doing before Niklaus had decided to bother him. Klaus followed in suit, just seating himself next to Bekah, picking up the rune filled book he'd been studying. He'd only bothered Finn because of the fact that it was incredibly boring. Rebekah just stayed turned towards the flames, watching them silently, slightly amused at something. Elijah, pleased with how they were being now, just went and sat in an actual chair by the wall.

The placid moment was apparently not meant to last, however, as the door of the house was soon heard slamming shut. Having been leaning his chair back against the wall, Elijah felt a reverberation run through the wall, and by extension, himself, and frowned a bit. He glanced at his siblings, noticing that they didn't seem to have heard anything. He had no desire to disturb them, which could possibly result in more dramatics, so he merely stood up. His mother was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. He'd deal with whatever it was himself. Besides, he was pretty certain that it was probably just his father. He had gone out earlier in the day, for a few meetings with the other men in the village. He moved to leave the room, but was cut off when Mikael entered. "Father. We-"

Mikael held up a hand, not looking at Elijah. "I've no plans to chat, Son." His gaze was locked onto the children behind Elijah, one of which who now stood up stiffly. "Children. While out today, I noticed something missing from my scabbard." He hadn't bothered to check in the morning, as he'd always had it on him. "Where is my blade?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Elijah could see both Finn and Niklaus share looks of bewilderment. Rebekah had turned to face them, but looked too grave for her age. Elijah wondered if his expression matched hers. "What do you mean? Which..." He trailed off when Mikael raised a hand to him again.

"I really doubt you even know, Elijah," Mikael told him, looking directly at Klaus as he said it.

Instantly catching the silent accusation, Klaus shook his head. "No. I didn't even lay eyes on it. I don't have it, Father," he said honestly. He did steal, yes, but wouldn't even consider doing so from his father. That would be...stupid.

Mikael scoffed icily at that. "Who else would have taken it, Niklaus?" Klaus just repeated the action of shaking his head, noticeably tense. "Niklaus! Return it. _Now_!"

"When did you notice it to be gone, Father? One of the men at your meetings may have taken it," Elijah intervened after a glance back to his brother. This wasn't what he'd wanted. He'd merely been doing a favor for his sister. His father had a number of blades. He'd just taken the most accessible one. If he'd known Mikael would be this angered over its absence...

Not taking his cool stare from Klaus, Mikael scoffed. "None of them happen to be suicidal. They wouldn't dare set hand to even my sheath. Niklaus, if you believe I'm in the mood for your foolishness, you'll be proven wrong harshly. Return the blade to me. And not a word, Elijah."

"I didn't take it," Klaus vowed. "You can check all of my belongings, anything. I don't have it. I _wouldn't_ take it."

"Do you truly believe I need your permission to do such a thing, boy? That would be pointless. I already know you have it, you ungrateful child. If you're so fond of blades, you could have just told me. I would gladly introduce you." Klaus paused at his tone at the last part, involuntarily taking a step back when Mikael strode over to him, taking his upper arm in hand tightly.

"Father, I've seen him all day. He wouldn't have had time to take it," Finn actually, both Rebekah and Elijah looking at him in barely concealed shock. Of course, he was lying, but... He knew Mikael, too. He got mad at Klaus a lot, but it seemed worse this time. Finn would guess Mikael had been drinking quite a bit, as they often did at the meetings, from what he himself had seen.

"I'm sure your mother has finished dinner by now. Go eat," was Mikael's only reply as he began to leave the room, pulling Klaus out with him. He was clearly not going to be reasoned with, though he rarely ever was. Elijah avoided looking at Klaus when they went by him, feeling beyond guilty. But what could he say? He looked to Rebekah, sighing at her deep frown.

Finn looked at them a moment and frowned as well, but seemed to compose himself better and easier than them, sucking a sharp breath in before heading to the dining room, showing no emotion now. Elijah and Rebekah eventually followed him out.

/

/

The time that everyone had finished dinner, Mikael entered the house again, going to the dining room and ignoring the interrogating gazes of his children. He waved a hand dismissively, wishing to speak to Esther alone. "Go. You may leave."

Rebekah stood up before all of them, lifting the hem of her dress and virtually running out of the room. That was probably the longest time Klaus and Mikael had been alone before, and she'd have to be heartless to not be _extremely_ worried.

"Rebekah, wait!" Finn called, him and Elijah following her briskly. Rebekah first stopped by Klaus's room, frowning even more when she saw he wasn't there. Finn and Elijah joined her side, glancing in as well, having the same reaction. "Where is he?" Elijah just gestured for Finn to follow, as Rebekah had gone off again. She checked the sitting room before her blue eyes widened a bit and she went outside.

"Elijah! Elijah, get out here, now!" Rebekah practically screamed, dropping to her knees when she reached the bloodied body. It wasn't that far from the door of the house, which is probably the only reason she'd noticed, as it was so dark. But she hadn't exactly been looking to find her brother sprawled on the ground, tragically wounded. She'd never actually seen him like...this before. It scared her. He wasn't moving, and from what she could tell, he wasn't breathing much either. She didn't dare touch him. "Nik?"

Elijah and Finn were both by her then, the former kneeling on the other side of Klaus. "What the hell?! Brother?" He reached a hand out, obviously about to shake him, but Rebekah slapped his hands away.

"No. Look." Rebekah nodded down to him. There was literally no place one could touch him, without coming into contact with some wound. Some were larger than others, but all of them seemed absolutely disgusting to her. She wasn't queasy, but this was bad.

Elijah looked at her sternly. "We are not leaving him on the ground like this, Rebekah." He whipped his head around when he noticed Finn leaving. "Finn!" He narrowed his eyes, his usually calm mask breaking. "Coward..." He looked back down to Klaus, his expression showing guilt and anger, though neither were directed at his brother. Ignoring Rebekah's warnings, he slowly turned Klaus onto his back, grimacing at the series of parlous flinches that went through Klaus as a result. At least he was alive, then. "I'm sorry, brother," he said under his breath, considering. "If you can hear me, I'm going to help you stand. Rebekah will, too. She's here." He glanced at his sister. "Take his right arm. I've got his left." Rebekah was still a moment, obviously conflicted, but eventually nodded slowly. Elijah took Klaus's left upper arm, beginning to pull him up.

Elijah abruptly stopped though, as what he'd been doing seemed to shake Klaus out of whatever inert state he'd been in. He cried out in pain. "Let..go," he quipped distressingly, the pain in his arm being unbearable. His words were practically drowned out by the blood in his mouth, however, but he either didn't care or didn't notice. His head tilted to the side, so that he could look at Elijah. "Doesn't get help," he said around his bloodied teeth, whatever he'd wanted to say coming out broken as he coughed, more blood coming from his mouth. Elijah didn't understand what he meant with that last part, so ignored it. A part of him would bet that Klaus wasn't exactly in the best of mental states anyway. He let him go though, lying him back down. As he looked him over again, he realized his brother's arm wasn't even properly bent, which made him sure it had been broken. Another surge of fury and guilt went through him, not that he'd gotten over it in the first place.

"Elijah. It's...not our faults. Father is unreasonable," Rebekah told her older brother, attempting to remain at least minimally composed, frowning down at Klaus. Elijah only shook his head at her words, not responding otherwise. He was so caught up in his guilt-laced thoughts that he didn't notice when Finn came out again, his mother following.

Rebekah sprung up immediately. "Mother! Mother, you can help him. Heal him, please! He needs it."

Elijah looked over at Esther, his expression bleak. He stood up slowly. "Yes. He does indeed need it..."

Esther went over to the three of them, Finn staying where he was. She looked over her son, who had gone into a torpid state again. She sighed and knelt down, placing a hand to his forehead, paying no real heed to the chill of it. She chanted something quickly, standing up afterwards. "I cannot heal him anymore than that."

Elijah, Rebekah, and even Finn, looked at her incredulously. "What do you mean?" Rebekah questioned. "He looks exactly the same."

"I cannot do anything noticeable, Rebekah. Mikael instructed me to not heal him _at all_. But what I've done will speed up the process for him," Esther told all of them, raising a brow.

"But, Mother, can you not...lessen it at all? Please," Rebekah continued, not ready to give up on the fact that her mother was powerful enough to fix this.

Esther shook her head. "No, Rebekah. Do not ask again. He will be fine in time." She leaned down and actually picked Klaus up herself, his noises of pain falling on deaf ears. She didn't look down at him, and instead focused on her other children, disregarding the blood of her child seeping through her dress. "Finn. Go get some herbs. You know where they are. Rebekah, get the tin box with the other supplies in it." She glanced at Elijah. "You'll help me. Seeing as he isn't exactly being tranquil now, I don't think cleaning his wounds will make him so." As she was holding him "bridal-style", his back was slightly curved, in a way that made it undeniable that all of the trauma on his back was being stretched. It was highly likely that this was the main reason he wasn't being still, which she couldn't bring herself to be annoyed with. While she didn't show it often, she did love her son, and seeing him like this wasn't something she was indifferent to. She turned and headed back towards the house, Elijah following alongside her in furious silence. Rebekah and Finn had already gone inside to get what their mother had requested.


End file.
